


The Pact

by katedf



Series: TickTock [2]
Category: Death in Paradise
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:54:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24021652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katedf/pseuds/katedf
Summary: This sequel to Tick Tock picks up the story later the same evening. What, exactly, did "take pity" mean?
Relationships: Camille Bordey/Richard Poole
Series: TickTock [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732741
Comments: 10
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't been posting for a long while, but I do write from time to time. I can't believe people are still reading my stories, and that Richard and Camille are still so popular. So for those who wondered what happened after Camille's suggestion, here's what I think happened.

_Or we could just take pity on each other tonight._

Richard was stunned. Had they really just done that? It seemed that one minute they were on the veranda, kissing, and the next minute they were in bed. 

“Camille?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry it was so quick. I wasn’t—”

“Don’t. It’s all right.”

“No, it isn’t. It should have been better.”

Camille rolled onto her side and nestled against Richard. “I read somewhere—"

“Please, not some wisdom about sex from the Internet.”

“No, it was a woman’s health magazine. A very reputable source. The article said that in a new relationship it isn’t unusual for the man to finish quickly and the woman to take longer. And then, as they get used to each other, the man lasts longer and the woman responds faster, and they sort of meet in the middle. So we need more practice.”

“Practice makes perfect?”

“Something like that.” Camille kissed Richard lightly. 

“It’s just that it was so intense. Manufacturers lie. It doesn’t feel the same when you don’t use—oh, God. We didn’t use anything. I know this all started from a discussion of babies, but it’s too soon, and—”

“Shh.”

“What are we—”

“Shh! I’m thinking.” Camille put her fingers on Richard’s lips. After a few seconds she said, “I’m due in a few days, so we should be all right.”

“Due? Oh.”

“And that’s part of tonight.”

“PMS?”

“Sort of. I know men don’t like to hear women talk about their cycles, but we think about it a lot. Aside from the obvious need to know when we’re due, it’s also a sign of health if we’re regular. And for a young woman, it can mean relief because she isn’t pregnant. And then when she’s older, it can be a disappointment that she isn’t. Even though I’m not trying—I haven’t been with anyone for quite a while so it isn’t a possibility—each month is another missed opportunity. 

“On top of that, it’s my birthday. Another year and what do I have to show for it? Juliet is younger than I am and she’s on her second pregnancy. And then there’s the blind date. It’s like Maman is saying I’m so hopeless that she needs to find a man for me. I planned to be the good daughter and go to the party. I was standing at the closet deciding what to wear when I suddenly thought NO. It’s my birthday and if I don’t want a date and a party then I shouldn’t have to do that. So I didn’t go.”

“Instead you came here.”

“I didn’t set out to come here. I needed to go for a walk to calm down. I didn’t think about where I was going. I just walked. I got here and that’s when I knew. I wanted to spend my birthday with you. Not with some blind date, not with everyone at the bar. With you.”

“And you did.”

“Yes. Best birthday ever. Well, except maybe the year Maman bought me a surfboard. That was pretty special.” 

“So I have a year to come up with something better than a surfboard.” Richard rested his hand lightly on Camille’s abdomen. “Perhaps a baby?”

“Perhaps. Richard, when you made up the pact, why did you do that? Why didn’t you simply ask me?”

“I would never have had the courage to do that. I thought if I made the offer for the future and you didn’t want it, we could just pretend it was a bad attempt at a joke to cheer you up and it wouldn’t be awkward or embarrassing. But the moment I heard myself say it, I knew that I wanted this more than anything.”

Camille sighed and snuggled closer. Richard wrapped his arms around her and held her close. 

-o-o-o-o-o-

They were asleep when Richard’s phone rang.

“Don’t answer it,” Camille mumbled as Richard pulled away and got out of bed.

“I have to. I’m on call.” He fumbled with his jacket and found the phone just as it stopped ringing. “Oh, God.”

“Who is it?”

“Your mother and she’s leaving a long message.” The phone chirped to indicate a message had been left. Richard sat on the edge of the bed and played the message. He said, “I’d better call her back. If I don’t, she’ll come over here to yell at me in person. I won’t tell her you’re here, so be quiet.”

Catherine answered the phone a second after Richard tapped the call back icon. 

“Catherine, I’m sorry I didn’t answer. It went to voice mail before I could get to it.”

Pause

“She’s all right. She went to a friend’s house.”

Pause

“No, sorry, I can’t. Sworn to secrecy.”

Pause

“I don’t care if it sounds childish. I won’t break a promise. Especially not to Camille.”

Long pause

“She’s angry, too. We had a long talk this evening. You didn’t respect her wishes for a low-key birthday. The banner and balloons and especially the blind date were not what she wanted. And it turns out that I was right earlier. She doesn’t like your choices. She says they’re boring.”

Pause

“I know what _you_ want, Catherine. But Camille wants to make her own choice.”

Long Pause

“And what if she doesn’t? If she chooses to not choose anyone, that’s her choice, too. It’s her life, Catherine. It can’t have been easy to raise a child all alone, but you did it. And you did it well. You raised Camille to be a strong, confident, independent woman. So respect her independence. Trust her intelligence and your parenting skills and let her make her own choices. You might as well, because we both know she will do that anyway.”

Pause

“She will talk to you tomorrow. For tonight it’s best if you both step back a bit. Words said in anger can’t be taken back.” Hearing no response, Richard said, “Goodnight, Catherine.”

He ended the call and blew out a breath. He felt the mattress dip as Camille moved behind him. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his. 

“I love you.” Before Richard could say anything, she continued, “You’re my knight in shining armor. You rode up on your charger and you fought the dragon for me.”

“I’m not sure we should call your mother a dragon.”

“Okay, not a dragon. But you defended me like my dream knight. When I was a little girl and didn’t have my father there to take care of me, I used to fantasize that if I got into trouble, a brave knight would arrive to rescue me. As I got older, he became romantic. I would dream of him sweeping me up onto his white horse and we’d ride off into Happy Ever After Land.”

“Your mother said she was afraid you were waiting for a fairytale hero to come along. I wouldn’t have pegged you as such a romantic. You’re so strong and confident, not the damsel in distress type.”

“Even a strong woman likes to be rescued sometimes.”

“Sometimes. How will I know which times require rescuing?”

“I don’t know.”

“Camille, I’m fairly clueless about women, so I’m probably not going to be able to tell when to rescue you and when to let you take care of yourself.”

“That’s all right. We’ll figure it out as we go along.”

“Another practice thing?”

“Uh huh. And speaking of practice…”

-o-o-o-o-o-

“See?” Camille said, “I told you we would improve with practice. And I want to change what I said before. Forget the surfboard. This is the best birthday ever. It started out horrible and you made it wonderful. So that’s twice you rescued me tonight.”

“Camille…the pact…we never defined taking pity. It isn’t only about making you feel better on a bad birthday, And I don’t want you to think it was a move to take advantage of your unhappiness to get you into bed. You’re so much more than that. You aren’t one night. You’re forever. I love you.”

Camille drifted off to sleep quickly, but Richard lay awake for a while. He would believe it was a dream if not for the fact that she was there, in his arms. And it was more than her pent-up frustrations and his pent-up desire. They had talked about how they felt about each other and what they wanted from life. In some ways opening up like that was more intimate than making love. But they hadn’t talked about practical things, like how and when to tell people. That would have to start tomorrow with Catherine. He couldn’t decide if he was dreading the explosion that might occur or looking forward to feeling smug at the revelation that Camille’s choice had been right there all along. Smug won out and he fell asleep smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

Camille stretched and sighed. She opened her eyes and discovered she was alone. Where was Richard? She looked up to see that he was dressed, reading, and sipping a cup of tea. 

At the sound of her sigh, Richard looked over at her. “Good morning.”

“You got up.”

“You fell back to sleep, but I was awake. I thought I’d leave the bed to you. You do tend to sprawl.”

Camille looked at the small amount of empty space next to her. “I’m used to sleeping alone.”

“So am I.”

“You tend to sleep in the middle of the bed.”

“Sharing a bed is something else we’ll need to practice.” When Camille started to giggle, Richard added, “Not _that._ I mean sleeping.” 

Camille sat up, modestly wrapping the sheet around herself. “I know. My bed is the same. And neither of us has enough space for a larger one. And your closet is small and—oh.”

“What?”

“Last night was so romantic and now we’re already talking about practical stuff.”

“The harsh light of day,” said Richard as he moved to sit on the bed. “Regrets?”

Camille reached out for his hand. “No regrets. I love you and I want us to be together. But I’m not sure how we’re going to manage it.”

“I thought about it for a while last night after you fell asleep. The first step has to be telling your mother.”

Camille groaned, “I know. I’m sorry you had to deal with her anger last night.”

“All part of a knight’s services, my lady,” Richard kissed her hand, then said, “Seriously, I didn’t want the two of you to get into an argument that would damage your relationship. I don’t think I’ve seen you so unhappy or her so angry in all the time I’ve known you. So this is me taking care of you, take the day off.”

“I don’t need to.”

“I think _we_ need you to. It will be easier for me at work without you as a distraction. Let’s not give ourselves away before we’ve settled things with your mother. Dwayne and Fidel won’t question you taking a day off. I’ll tell them we talked and you send your apologies for not showing up to celebrate. Not that you need to apologize, but it’s the conventional thing to say. And I’ll tell them that I’m going to mediate a truce between you and your mother.”

“That makes sense. Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

“I’ve never had someone to take care of. I think I’m going to like it. But now I have to go to work. I’ve put out extra towels if you want a shower. I apologize for the poor water flow. There’s eggs and bread if you want breakfast. Only instant coffee, I’m afraid. Take your time. I’ve left my keys on the desk, so lock up when you leave. And call me when you’re ready to face Maman.”

Richard gave her a quick kiss, then picked up his jacket and briefcase and left. Camille smiled at the thought of how comfortable it felt, as if they’d been together for years.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Richard walked slowly to the bar, remembering Dwayne’s comment when he explained what he was going to do. “Good luck with that, Chief.” But he had to do it. He had promised Camille.

“Richard! What are you doing here?”

“Good morning, Catherine. Camille will be here shortly. I’m here as, um, I suppose you’d say I’m here as a referee.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I want to help you two find peace. You have such a strong relationship. I’m not that close to either of my parents and I am envious of the closeness you have. But this issue of the blind dates is threatening that. You think she’s simply being stubborn, but it’s more than that. She feels hurt that you don’t think she’s capable of making good choices.”

“It isn’t like you to get in the middle of something like this.”

“She’s my best—Camille is my friend. Friends help each other.”

Catherine went back to setting up for the day and Richard sat to wait for Camille.

Camille looked into the bar. Richard saw her and smiled. She raised her eyebrows. He shrugged in response. She blew out a big breath and entered.

“Good morning, Maman.”

“You should have called me last night!”

“I didn’t think it would—” 

“This is not a good way to start this. Sit down, both of you,” said Richard. The two women sat at separate tables. 

Richard opened his briefcase and took out some paper and pens. “I have had some training in conflict resolution. It was part of a course several of us took on dealing with hostage and other stressful situations.”

“And which of us is the hostage?” asked Catherine.

“Neither. Or perhaps you’re both my hostages. You’re going to take a sheet of paper and make a list. Catherine, your list will be the qualities you think are important in a man for Camille. Camille, your list will be the qualities you want in a man.”

“Are you making a list?” asked Catherine.

“No, I’m not part of the conflict.”

“If we have to make lists, then you should, too.”

“Very well,” he grumbled. “Four or five items.”

When they all had finished writing, Richard turned his list over and picked up the women’s lists. He handed Catherine’s list to Camille.

“Read your mother’s list.”

“Out loud?”

“Yes.”

“Reliable, faithful, has a good job, likes children.” She looked at Catherine, “Really? It sounds like you’re looking for a leader for boy scouts or something like that.”

“I want you to have someone who will be there for you and can take care of you.”

Before Camille could answer, Richard gave her list to Catherine.

“Supportive,” she began, not noticing the look that passed between Richard and Camille. “Honorable, intelligent and respects my intelligence, a smile that melts my heart. Except for the last one, it sounds like you’re looking for a coworker more than a husband.” 

“I want an equal partner, a man who respects me and appreciates my abilities, not someone who thinks he has to take care of me all the time as if I’m not capable of taking care of myself. Because you know I can take care of myself.”

“What is so funny, Richard?” asked Catherine.

“I’m remembering the time Camille told me that she could take care of herself. I believe she said she could beat me in a fistfight.”

“And I could!”

“I don’t doubt it,” replied Richard. He smiled at her, and Camille thought, yes, that’s it. The smile that melts my heart.

“What about your list, Richard?” Catherine held out her hand and Richard gave her the paper.

“Hmm, kind, intelligent, willing to be rescued and ready to rescue me when I need it, teach me to laugh more often, my best friend.” Catherine looked at Richard and said, “You want to be rescued?”

“Sometimes it’s the damsel who saves the day.”

“And sometimes it’s the knight in shining armor,” said Camille. “And I have found mine.”

Richard took the hand Camille held out to him and kissed it, “Your faithful servant, my lady.”

Catherine stared at them for a minute, then looked again at the lists. She said, “Your lists are similar. Did you work this out before you came here?”

“No, Maman. I didn’t know Richard was going to do this. But I was with him last night when you called. We talked for a long time about so many things, what we want, how important we are to each other. We both want an equal partner, a best friend.”

“And love?” asked Catherine.

“Yes, of course, love,” Richard replied. Catherine was surprised. She never expected Richard to use the word so easily.

“And children?”

“To be decided,” he said. “Or perhaps a surfboard.”

Camille laughed at her mother’s confused expression. “I don’t know, Maman. I feel like I’m _supposed_ to want children, that my time is running out. I know that _you_ want me to have children. But I don’t know if I want them for me. For _us._ So give us time to figure that out.”

Catherine opened her mouth to say something, but Richard caught her eye and shook his head. 

“Please, Catherine, a little patience, a little understanding. Remember what I said last night. You raised her to be strong and independent. You can’t control her.” He smiled at Camille, “And I have no illusion that I can, either.”

“Right,” said Camille. “Because partners don’t control each other. It’s about asking, not demanding. And giving and caring. And…”

As she trailed off, Richard completed the sentence, “And helping and supporting. That’s our pact, to be each other’s best friend.”


End file.
